Welcome to Cosmic Dust and Magnetism 2018

Scientific Rationale and Scope

Dust and magnetic fields are ubiquitous in the universe. Interstellar dust is the seeds of star and planet formation,
while magnetic fields play an important role in many astrophysical phenomena, including star formation,
cosmic ray transport, and synchrotron emission. The alignment of non-spherical dust grains with magnetic fields,
resulting in dust polarization, provides a powerful tool to map magnetic fields. Dust polarization has been successfully
used to trace magnetic fields in various scales, from ~ kpc to ~ 1000 AU scales.
Recent polarization observations at mm-cm wavelengths from disks (~ 100 AU scales) by ALMA reveal that dust polarization
may not trace magnetic fields, but grain growth and planetesimal formation. At the same time, polarized dust emission
is considered the most critical challenge for understanding how the universe was born through so-called B-modes polarization.
Therefore, accurate modeling of dust foreground polarization, which depends on dust astrophysics, gas density,
and magnetic field structure, is required for the B-modes detection. The aim of this workshop is to bring together
local and international experts in dust astrophysics and magnetic fields in order to discuss the following important aspects:
1. Dust Properties and Dust Evolution from Angstroms to centimeters to planetesimals 2. Physics of Dust Polarization: grain alignment, scattering, and observational tests3. What is the role of magnetic fields on star and planet formation?4. What can we learn from mm-cm dust polarization observations in the ALMA era: Magnetic fields or Grain Growth?5. Alternative ways to trace magnetic fields as a synergy to dust polarization6. Related important issues: turbulence, filaments, and shocks 7. What dust astrophysics and magnetic fields required for accurate modeling of Galactic foreground for CMB B-modes detection?